A newsletter for alumni, students, parents and friends.

UC Berkeley Awards Kingman $15,000

By Kate Sassoon

This past summer a crew of co-opers and Central Level staff gathered together around a great idea: to renovate the Kingman Hall Creekside Amphitheater and turn it into a community gathering space. After some initial brainstorming, we applied for a grant from the new UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Community Fund—a new community building and partnership funding program, currently in its first year—to help make this vision a reality.

With the $15,000 we were granted, we plan to renovate the amphitheater into a well-landscaped garden, incorporating the use of native plants and sustainable vegetation. We envision hosting events from neighborhood meetings and cookouts on the beautiful stone barbecue, to outdoor theatrical events, yoga classes, poetry workshops, lectures and study sessions.

Leading the team of consultants is landscape architect Robert Trachtenberg who, with the help of current Kingmanites, outlined an amazing renovation plan. Robert’s brother David Trachtenberg was a member of Kingman Hall (1978-80) and fondly remembers the place. Also on board with the project is the Northside Neighborhood Association, with active participation from Daniella Thompson and Jim Sharp. Neighbors will be attending Kingman’s upcoming annual Neighborhood Brunch and will be helping at our regular Community Amphitheatre Work Parties between now and the completion of the project.

Kate is a Senior majoring in Conservation Resource Studies and Theater and Dance Performance. She lives at Kingman Hall.